On the Belarusian-Dutch Business Forum in The Hague

On November 21-24, 2012 a representative delegation from the Republic of Belarus paid a visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The delegation included Mr. Leonid Marinich, the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus Mr. Sergei Kilin, Chief Scientific Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Mr. Sergei Tkachenko, Head of Administration of the free economic zone «Grodnoinvest»,  Mr. Dmitri Klevzhits, Director of the National Agency for Investment and Privatization of Belarus, Mr. Aleksandr Martinkevich, Deputy Director of Belarus High-Tech Park, Mr. Boris Komrakov, representative of the scientific and technological association «Infopark»,  high officials from the State Customs Committee, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Belarusian Association of International Freight Forwarders and Logistics (BAIF), Center of LED and optoelectronic technologies of the National  Academy of Sciences of Belarus, as well as the delegation of the Belarusian business circles under the auspices of Minsk department of the Belarusian chamber of commerce and industry.

On November 22, 2012 The Belarusian-Dutch Business Forum «20 years of economic partnership: key achievements and future prospects» was held in The Hague. The Forum organized by the Embassy of Belarus in the Netherlands became the most important event within the program of the visit of the Belarusian delegation. It was attended by about 200 representatives of the Belarusian and the Dutch companies, banks, chambers of commerce, state institutions, local authorities and educational establishments.

Business circles of the Netherlands were represented at the Forum by such  companies as «Philips», «Heineken», «DSM», «Akzo Nobel», «FrieslandCampina Nutrifeed», «Lely Industries», «APH Group», «Fonterra Europe», «Sabic Europe», «VanDrie Group», «Claudia Strater», «Fruitmasters Holland», «Zon Fruit & Vegetables», «Scelta Mushrooms», «KLG Europe», «Seacon Logistics», «Princess Household Appliances BV», «Rabobank International», Amsterdam Trade Bank, «Lighthouse Russia BV», «Friesian Agro Consultancy BV», «DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability» and many others.

The plenary session of the Forum began with a presentation of the Ambassador of Belarus to the Netherlands Mrs Elena Gritsenko, who informed the participants about the dynamics and the results of the Belarusian-Dutch trade, economic and investment cooperation in 1992-2012, as well as about current economic situation in Belarus, its industrial, agricultural, technological and transit potential, as well as about the  measures taken by the Government of Belarus to create  favorable conditions for business and foreign investments.

Among the key speakers at the plenary session were also the representatives of the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH), The Hague Chamber of Commerce, companies «Philips» and «Heineken», who shared with the audience their experience in Belarus and their plans to intensify cooperation with the Belarusian partners.

Three parallel thematic workshops entitled «Agriculture and food sector in Belarus: opportunities for Dutch companies», «Doing business in the Common Economic Area Belarus/Russia/Kazakhstan: customs, transport and logistics, technical regulations» and «Investment potential of Belarus, including in energy and IT sectors»  were held within the framework of the Forum.

The First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus Mr. Leonid Marinich informed the participants of the Forum about the priority directions of the development  of the agricultural sector in Belarus until 2015, held talks with a number of the Dutch companies on increasing cooperation in the sphere of modernization of Belarusian agricultural complex and gave an extensive interview to the observer of the Dutch specialized Governmental agricultural edition «Boerderij Vandaag».

Members of the Belarusian delegation also made presentations of the  advantages of doing business in Belarus in view of the creation of the  Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, including in the sphere of transport  and logistics, informed the participants of the workshops about the investment climate in Belarus, the potential of energy and IT sectors, conditions of doing business in free economic zones and in the Belarusian-Chinese industrial park.

In the course of the match-making which was the integral part of the Forum the participants from Belarus and the Netherlands reached concrete agreements on increasing the Belarusian export to the Netherlands and enhancing investment cooperation. Following the results of the forum the parties agreed to organize a visit of Dutch businessmen to Belarus in 2013 and to discuss the creation of the Belarus-Dutch Business Council.

On November 23, 2012 the Deputy Director of Belarus High-Tech Park Mr. Aleksandr Martinkevich and the representatives of the Belarus IT-companies took part in the Belarus-Russia-Netherlands IT-seminar where the Belarusian  participants presented the IT potential of Belarus   and took part in the match-making.

The members of the Belarusian delegation also visited a number of the Dutch companies specialized in the field of milk processing, food ingredients production, innovative technologies, transport and logistics, as well as the business incubator «Yes! Delft» and the largest European port of Rotterdam.

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